GoKawiilTrinamiX, a subsidiary of BASF, says Apple’s current implementation of Face ID is infringing on several of its patents. Here are the details.
trinamiX says Face ID infringes seven patents
As first spotted by Reuters, trinamiX says newer versions of Apple’s Face ID, used in iPhones and iPad Pro models, infringe on seven of its patents.
In the lawsuit, trinamiX describes itself as a BASF spin-off that “has grown from a startup into an operating company that designs, develops, and commercializes advanced sensing technologies, including biometric imaging, three-dimensional vision, and near-infrared spectroscopy solutions for consumer and industrial applications.”
The patents trinamiX alleges Apple is infringing cover technology that can detect human skin during facial authentication, addressing an issue that, according to the lawsuit, allowed researchers to bypass the original version of Face ID using specially constructed 3D masks.
TrinamiX says its technology works by projecting a pattern of light onto a face and analyzing how that light reflects back to determine properties of the surface. Combined with 3D depth information, the company says this can distinguish human skin from materials used in photographs, masks, and other attempts to spoof facial authentication systems.
The seven patents listed in the lawsuit belong to two families:
Optical skin detection for face unlock (US Patents no. 12,530,925; 12,288,421; 12,456,334; 12,361,760)
Detector for identifying at least one material property (US Patents no. 12,298,394; 12,332,352; 12,461,238)
The lawsuit lists the following Apple devices among the “Accused Products”:
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